REAL HEROES #2

This issue opens with a flashback that shows the “real” Olympian getting blown to smithereens by the same type of robot that attacked the actors last issue. It’s from a film that Smitty has been showing the crew, to convince them this is all real. He takes them to the Olympians old flying fortress, the Pantheon (sort of a mix between the Ultimates Triskelion and The Authority’s Carrier), and tells them his plan. The Olympian’s arch-enemy Brainchild and his army of mutants have been terrorizing the world since 9/11, leaving the Earth in a constant state of war. Smitty wants the actors to put on the costumes and pretend to be the real heroes, and record a video to be broadcast across the world where they make an offer of a truce with Brainchild. After they do that, Smitty swears he’ll send them home. So they agree and then shoot the film, but before Smitty can begin sending them home, Brainchild and a bunch of his mutant creatures appear. Chris, as the Olympian, tries to talk to him, but then BRUTE, this world’s Hulk analog, whom Brainchild brought with him, suddenly attacks and the cast go flying out the window, plummeting their deaths. . .

The comparisons to Galaxy Quest intensify here, as it’s basically the same plot. Still, Hitch does a pretty good job of showcasing the personalities of the cast, and how they’re reacting to all them. Most of them spend this issue in a state of fear and disbelief, which feels natural. Chris is the only one appears to almost be enjoying this. Danny is shown being tempted to do some more cocaine, which he brought with him, while the others just want to get this over with and go home. The character of Smitty also seems to be more than he appears to be. He’s rather blase about the fact that he did all of this against their will, taking umbrage at being accused of kidnapping them. Also, how would his original plan have worked? Assuming he got Brainchild to agree to the truce, what would happen with the cast we gone, back in their own universe? Could it be that he never really planned to send them back? That’s just a hunch. We’ll see how this plays out. I enjoyed this issue as much as the first one, both from the writing and the art.